Tom Cruise is on TikTok, but it's a fake done with artificial intelligence

Also by Tom Cruise he was fascinated by the short videos of TikTok? It would seem so but, in reality, it is a fake. Indeed, of a deepfake. To bring Cruise, or rather a faithful reproduction of it, on the social network was theartificial intelligence through complex simulation algorithms that were able to reproduce the features of the American actor.

It appeared suddenly, at the end of February, on TikTok and after only 3 videos it disappeared into thin air. In the meantime, however, the profile deeptomcruise managed to grab over a million likes, more than 11 million views and 380 followers. All for an AI-created deepfake. And then nothing. Many have wondered who was behind the account but, to date, no one has been able to give a concrete answer to the question. For sure, he is an expert in the technique of emulation who reconstructs in a credible way the appearance and the face of real people, given the surprising results obtained in such a short time.

DeepTomCruise, a perfect Cruise but not too much

Of course, the username did not give rise to many misunderstandings but at a less careful look the images could have deceived many of the users of TikTok. In addition, a few too many graphic errors, the so-called glitch, in the areas of the video near the face they quickly dispelled all doubts even in the most distracted.

Even the voice was not reproduced perfectly, but these are venial sins for a profile that, after only a handful of videos with a funny and light-hearted tone, disappeared leaving behind a cloud of smoke. But between a fake Tom Cruise playing a magic game with a coin and a clumsy Mr. Mission: Impossible stumbling across Los Angeles stores, the risks of deepfake continue to keep the attention of the network high.

TikTok and the risks of deepfake

They draw from vast libraries that make available the different conformations of the areas of the face, and reconstruct a credible collage of the faces of famous and non-famous people. This is how software that exploits the technique of deepfake, making it not only a social entertainment or study source for industry professionals, but also a potential source of dangers.

In fact, in recent years there have been cases of fake videos, usually a Red lights, in which the faces of famous actresses - Scarlett Johansson to name one - have been superimposed on those of the real protagonists without their knowledge. The same has happened to some politicians, such as former US President Barack Obama and current President Joe Biden, all due to a Whatsapp then eliminated from the main virtual stores. Not to forget the sensational deepfake message from the Queen of England.

And what if instead of a red light film the protagonists were catapulted into a fake video on hot topics, such as the presidential elections or a fake declaration of a sex scandal? It is to be believed that the problems would have been many more. Given the ease of creating these videos - in many cases even one is enough smartphone - deepfake has the potential to become a serious problem for social networks and beyond.

And, as the fake Tom Cruise prepares to play golf, TikTok and his associates are already hard at work developing instruments able to prevent degeneration resulting from the use of such technologies.

Tom Cruise is on TikTok, but it's a fake done with artificial intelligence